


Dans la Forêt d'Ailes de Coccinelle: Into The Forest of Ladybug Wings

by LillianaBright03



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU, Blue Sargent cameo, Blue Sargent from The Raven Cycle, F/M, Inspired, adrien's mum is dEAD BOI, allusion/ reference to, good movie you should watch, hotarubi no Mori e - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-04-22 15:04:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14311299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LillianaBright03/pseuds/LillianaBright03
Summary: a story inspired by Hotarubi no Mori e (Into The Forest of Fireflies' Light)Adrien's mother was gone. He had no one left but his father, but he seemed to have taken the oath of silence around him, and has since been unapproachable.One evening, his father breaks his unsaid oath and tells Adrien they're going to meet Adrien's aunt, his mother's sister.In the countryside, Adrien comes across a remote Shinto shrine and an even more mysterious forest. And in the forest, he meets an even more mysterious person.She went by Ladybug.Ladybug should have died. Marinette shouldn't even exist. But thanks to Tikki and Plagg, she was given a chance to live with her friends in the forest. But, on one condition-- one touch and she will disappear. A human internally driven by magic was weak after all, even if it was with Tikki and Plagg's magic.But, how will she resist herself from holding a boy who arrives lost in the forest?





	1. She's Gone

The evening was sunny and soft, spring leaves floating in the air on that particularly windy day.  
  
It was only 7 o’clock, but it felt like it should have been the dead of night. Like it should be thundering, raining, the sky screaming while blinding white lights flashed around them.  
  
It shouldn’t be a sunny day.  
  
It shouldn’t be spring.  


The sun shouldn’t be high in the air.  
  
The birds shouldn’t be chirping like a song the next street down.  
  
That cat at the edge of his vision shouldn’t be casually bathing in a sunbath.  
  
She’s gone.  
  
The cat’s ear flinched to an upright position, turning its head towards him. It had neon green eyes with totally black fur which glistened in the sun as it lay. It seemed to have run around the sprinklers in the next street down.  
  
She's gone. She’s gone. She's _gone_.  
  
The cat stared at him, imploring him, _daring_ him to tell it to go, to leave, to never come back.  
  
He did not.  
  
The cat turned away, almost casually, but it felt like it was doing it smugly, triumphantly.  
  
How dare it.  
  
They lowered the casket in the ground, the embroidery of a peacock resting prettily on its head in a golden, glittering, thread. The casket itself a deep, mournful purple with a burnishing of sleek wood. It was as if they were lowering a royal rather than an actress, just as Gabriel Agreste had intended.  
  
The last of life seemed to fade around the world, making it lesser, colder and sadder,  
  
                                                                                                                            sadder,  
  
                                                                                                                                  sadder,  
  
                                                                                                                                        lonelier. 

  
  
Adrien held his father’s hand tight, but it was as if he was watching himself from afar.  
  
Like he wasn’t here.

 

Like this wasn’t him.

 

He was watching someone else.

 

_Gone, gone, gone._

 

He watched behind himself a few metres away, watching as his father squeezed his hand back.  
  
From the back, he noticed his father lowering his head, just so, causing Adrien to turn toward his father and hug him tightly. Tightly until the memories faded away to a blur of colours.  
  
Tightly until the world seemed to vanish. Tightly until his mother’s voice faded from a lullaby to a soft jingle. Tightly until the tightness in his chest hummed to an ache. Tightly, tightly, tightly.  
  
His father patted his back awkwardly, not knowing what to do with his hands until he finally leaned down and hugged Adrien fully. His head rested on top of his, and Adrien realised Gabriel was crying. His father’s chest heaved up and down against him, like an out of sync drum against Adrien’s rhythmic heart.  
  
Tightly, they waited. Tightly, they watched the casket get buried. Tightly, they watch as many family members and friends walked on stage to speak about Emilie Agreste.  
  
Gabriel Agreste walked on stage, his voice tight as he talked about Emilie.  
  
Adrien watched in silence until Gabriel gestured for both of them to lead into their limo.  
  
Their car sparkled cheerfully as they walked to it. It had been washed a few moments ago, it seemed. It wasn’t completely dry, either, as water dripped from the handles as the driver opened the door for them. Inside, the windows were open to let the spring breeze in, the hairs of the driver floating above his head as he watched them sit in.  
  
Gabriel Agreste said nothing as they sat in, besides ordering the Driver to raise the windows.  
  
The windows were deeply tinted, and as they rose higher and higher, the car darkened. Darker and darker. Like they were floating inside a void with only a little light peeking out from the very top.  
  
The engine started, and they left the site of her-- the last remaining pieces of her-- in silence. Adrien thought about nothing as he watched himself walk into the car and leaving the grave. The grave.  
  
Gabriel thought about something or nothing at all, no one could really tell, while he sat stone-faced next to him, leaving the grave. The grave.  
  
Her grave.  
  
_Her_ .  
  
She’s gone.  
  
  


Nearly four weeks later, Gabriel met Adrien at the dinner table. After an uncomfortably awkward silence unknown to both of them and eating amidst their own thoughts, Gabriel announced they were leaving to the countryside on the outskirts of France.  
  
Only temporarily, of course, Gabriel had added quickly. Only to meet Emilie’s sister and stay with her for a bit. Temporarily.  
  
Two more weeks later, Adrien was in another limo, watching the once livelier, warmer, happier world pass by. Instead of cheerful greens and happy chirps, it was downtrodden and rainy. The once blue, blue sky a cloudy, terrible, grey.  
  
Strangely, Adrien couldn’t appreciate it as he would have before, in his equally downtrodden, rainy mood. He wished the sky to be chirpier, the trees to be greener, and there to be black cats looking at him imploringly. He wanted to be happy. Instead, he felt rotten and lonely and sore and _bored_.  
  
So bored.  
  
Life passed him with little thought, his studies not even distracting him enough.  
  
He had hoped the country would be happy to see him because he desperately needed it to be.  
  
  
  
It was not.  
  
  
  
Feeling more discouraged and alone, his thoughts as stagnant as the breeze outside, he watched. He watched the world lurch to a stop. He watched the car breeze to a stop. He heard the car engines settle. He watched the doors opening and watched himself walking out.  
  
  
  
Watching.  
  
  
  
He watched the house. He watched the sky and felt the breeze.  
  
  
  
And then he realised the stagnant, humid, dreadful air was nonexistent.  
  
  
  
The world had suddenly spun to life, turning, churning, _feeling_ , reminding him it was alive. Reminding him he was here. He was here he was here he was _here_.  
  
  
  
The house was a quaint one, but it exuded warmth and breathlessness, seemingly pouring sunlight out of its windows.  
  
The wind picked up, fluttering the sheets stereotypically laid out on a line outside. Adrien saw himself walk inside the homely estate and then saw the estate as it were in front of him.  
  
He wasn’t looking behind himself, or above in an indeterminate place above it all, or next to himself, as if he was seeing what he was truly seeing but a shifted, sideways glance of it.  
  
He was here.

  
He was looking straight on.  
  
The home was wide, with long, tall windows laid out at the sides asymmetrically from the corners, letting the sunlight swim into the rooms excitedly.  
  
Curtains were nearly nonexistent in the bright house, except in the bedrooms. In the bedrooms, the curtains were large, soft, patterned and blue. So much blue.  
  
Next, his aunt introduced them to the kitchen, not a room but a space leading into another space. Sinks and black counters lay at its corners, but the centrepiece was a large black counter in the middle with its big beautiful blue flower pots and food on blue plates and blue showcases for guests.  
  
Adrien was introduced to his room, where he would stay for the week until he went back to his plain, boring lifestyle in cold, bustling Paris.  
  
His father nodded along, not uttering a word as his aunt introduced them around the house, but even he seemed to be a bit more livelier, a bit more awake, a bit more happy at all the sights.  
  
His aunt was a pleasant woman who resembled Emilie but with shortcut brown-black hair that stuck out in awkward angles. Her outfit was a plaid blue shirt and ripped light blue jeans, and she seemed to be the younger sister of Emilie.  
  
Adrien wondered if he had ever met her.  
  
Reading his mind, she smiled and asked Gabriel why this was the first time they met.  
  
Gabriel’s mouth was a thin, indiscriminate line on his face, but he did not utter a word. He just shrugged and walked ahead, wanting to see more of the house.  
  
The woman, his aunt, named Blue, shrugged and walked on after him, but paused and turned to Adrien with a soft smile.  
  
  
  
“ ** _Explore_**.”  
  
  
  
Those were the only words she whispered before she walked nonchalantly after Gabriel.  
  
Adrien looked nervously after her, his suitcases at his foot as he stood in the doorway of his room. His eyes shifted to the windows, taken aback by how quickly the cloudy sky turned bright and cheerful.  
  
Thinking for only a moment, he made a decision. He took a light green jacket and water bottle after rummaging through his suitcase, and practically ran from his room to the outside, breathing in the fresh air like it was a fine wine.  
  
His phone securely in his front pocket, he walked to the left, not bothering to use his GPS.  
  
  
  
He was going to explore.  
  
  
  
The sunlight pounding on his back, his water bottle nearly finished, and the wind picking up his jacket to make it flutter behind him like a cape, Adrien was more than ready to go home.  
  
He was in a small suburban town, a village, really, with little people but big wide, open, breezy areas. Everywhere he walked was green and blue, sapphire and emerald, like jewels.  
  
He enjoyed walking around and taking pictures with his phone, letting some soft music play in the background. Though, it drained his battery rather quickly.  
  
Suddenly seeing the time, he thought it was high time he went back. He was getting hungry.  
  
The phone in his hands and the GPS app opened on the screen, Adrien paused.  
  
  
  
There were wide, worn, and weathered stone stairs leading to red, dirty, tall but majestic pillars with two columns lying horizontally across the pillars as if a crown.  
  
Between the pillars were threads, wires, and strings, crisscrossing over each other with zig-zagging papers hanging from them. On the sides of the stairs were stout columns with similar crown-like statues, but the one on the right resembled a ginormous, domineering ladybug that seemed to be about to take flight, and the other was a big, majestic cat about to leap with its head was turned to the side. They both looked as weathered and worn as the pillars.  
  
Behind them was a dense, dark green forest, cicadas and birds chirping loudly in symphony from within it.  
  
  
  
Adrien had seen these in his studies and immediately recognised it as a Japanese Shinto Shrine.  
  
Curious, he wondered why there was a shrine in outskirts of France, and realised that there must have been those who built the shrine here in secret.  
  
The papers danced in the breeze, beckoning him inside. He abided, walking up the stairs.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
In a few minutes, he had finished his water and the previously bright, breathless day melted away to the cold, dark, nearly lightless forest.  
  
He walked and walked, and turned and turned, looking for the exit. The gate. The stairs. The sunlight.  
  
The trees rustled and rumbled, the canopy of leaves above like a concrete ceiling to hide him from the world. Or, more realistically, the world to hide from him.  
  
His phone’s service was gone, the bars invisible and his charge low. He was alone.  
  
  
  
Alone with an empty water bottle.  
  
  
  
Alone with a rumbling stomach.  
  
  
  
Alone with no way to call for help.  
  
  
  
    Alone,  
  
  
  
         Alone,  
  
  
  
             Alone…  
  
  
  
Water welled in his eyes, hot tears trickling down his face. He hadn’t cried like this since his mother's passing a few weeks ago.  
  
He sobbed, his breath choking and his lungs gasping out, holding his arms to himself. The world only darkened around him, closing in on him with little thought. Mocking him. Uncaring.  
  
He chest heaved, his throat tightened, and he pressed his knees to himself like a lifeline.  
  
He was going to die, he was going to die, he was going to die and-- and. He was going to meet his mother.  
  
  
  
There was a sharp gasp.  
  
  
  
Adrien ignored it, thinking it was his own gasp as he started to shift from the joyous feeling of being _here_ in his first-person view to a more third person, shifted view. He was losing track of himself again. He was looking at things as if he were a ghost rather than a person.  
  
  
  
He was alone. Alone without the sunlight, alone without the homely house of his aunt, alone without his father.  
  
  
  
Alone, alone, alo  
  
  
  
“Hey!”  
  
  
  
He paused, fear clutching his heart as he sat still.  
  
  
  
He kept looking at his knees, his crying softer but continuous, hoping the voice would go away.  
  
  
  
“I know you heard me.”  
  
  
  
Before he could think, he looked around, frantically searching for the voice.  
  
  
  
He stopped when he saw something blue. Bright, cornflower blue. A person! His aunt!  
  
  
  
He leapt to his feet and ran toward them, his arms reaching out as more tears fell from his eyes. Finally, someone to hold him. To hold him close to their heart. He needed reassurance, help, kindness, homeliness.  
  
  
  
His first thought had been his aunt, but he realised too late her hair was too raven-black, her stature too small.  
  
  
  
Before he could even touch her, though, she leapt out of his way and strategically flew to the side.  
  
  
  
He turned and saw the girl-- the woman, fully.  
  
  
  
She was taller than him by an inch or two at most and seemed to be in her early, early, 20’s.  
  
  
  
She seemed to be _about_ 20, actually.  
  
  
  
She wore an all-red full body suit that flared at her waist behind her into a full black with red polka dots, the flare longer at the sides.  
  
  
  
The suit wasn’t skin tight, but loose and breezy as it splayed out at her armpits, wrists, and thighs. Just so that you could tell how she looked, but not too tight as to see every detail.  
  
  
  
The suit was all-red, but it was dotted with large black spots in an asymmetrical pattern. She wore deep pink slippers with pointed toes like elves shoes, but there were no bells.  
  
On her face lay a polka dotted red mask that nearly covered her face, only showing her eyes and the bottom part of her face and lips. The blue he had seen had been her eyes, which were bright and curious. Her hair was put into two long pigtails, the hair ties extended and long like polka-dotted and red antennae.  
  
  
  
She leaned down on her knees and scrutinized him.  
  
  
  
“You’re a human child, right?”  
  
  
  
Bewildered, Adrien nodded dumbly.  
  
  
  
She looked at him gently, as if he was younger. “I’m sorry, but please don't touch me. If you do, I’d disappear.”  
  
  
  
Her gaze wasn’t patronising or mocking, but genuine and pleading.  
  
  
  
“What do you mean, ‘human?’ Aren’t you one?” Adrien found himself asking, his voice shuddering.  
  
  
  
The woman smiled forlornly, her gaze soft and kind to his. “No… I’m… something that lives in this forest.”  
  
  
  
Still crouching, he turned his body towards her. His voice croaking he asked her, “Are you… a spirit in the forest?”  
  
  
  
She smiled at him again and shrugged.  
  
  
Adrien got up and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands, still holding the water bottle and phone. He put his phone in his front pocket, and brushed off his knees, lifting himself up.  
  
He miscalculated, however, not realising his foot had fallen asleep as he fell forward towards the woman.  
  
She sidestepped him and let him drop to the ground. His forehead hit the trunk of an interrupting tree as he plunged forward, causing him to lay dazed for a few moments, face in the grass.  
  
Finally deciding to get up, he rubbed his forehead gingerly, thankfully not feeling any hard bumps, but dirt.  
  
He looked up at the woman, almost angrily, as he waited for his world to lurch to an even ground. She looked at him worriedly, chewing her bottom lip.  
  
Feeling bad, he nodded feebly and gave her a halfhearted thumbs up. She stepped back a bit, in case he would lurch forward again.  
  
Seeing he wasn't she smiled a bit and went on.  
  
  
“The mountain gods, Tikki and Plagg, placed a spell on me so I would not be able to touch a human or else I’d disappear. Forever.”  
  
  
His mind was still a bit dull with pain, so he repeated her words.  
  
  
  
“‘Disappear?’ What does that mean?”  
  
  
  
She smiled patiently at him. “Disappear, as in… to be obliterated. Non-existent. Not… here.  
  
If I get touched by a human, that’s the end.”  
  
  
  
She seemed to struggle as she said this, looking bothered. She turned to look at the greenery near the sky, her eyes were cloudy with thought, her expression vacant, lost.  
  
Adrien saw for the first time that it wasn’t as dark as he had previously thought. Sunshine streamed through holes in the leaves, painting the ground in fairy-like spots that wavered in the breeze in sync with the leaves above them. The woman seemed indifferent at the sight.   
  
Adrien wasn’t sure how to respond.  
  
  
  
“I’m so sorry.” He finally said, softly.  
  
  
  
The woman’s eyes returned to a bright, awake blue, and looked at him surprised, almost injured.  
  
  
  
She hurriedly grabbed a thick branch of the ground and gestured it toward him. “Uh, here. Grab the other end. I’ll… I’ll lead you to the gate, out of the forest.”  
  
  
  
Adrien broke out into a smile, his grin wide and happy. “Really?! Thank you!” He felt the urge to hug her again but decided against it.  
  
  
  
Smiling, he reached for the other end and let her lead him out of the forest.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Cicada’s chirped as the stuffy hotness of the forest turned to a simmering breath against Adrien’s neck. As he finally saw the gate of the shrine a few moments away, he looked towards the stick.  
  
  
  
Disregarding the rough texture of the branch, he could easily imagine this as a sort of date.  
  
  
  
Feeling silly for the sudden thought, he blushed and walked shamefully to the gate, though he wasn’t sure why he was so embarrassed.  
  
  
  
Reaching the shrine pillars with the statues, the woman broke their easy silence.  
  
  
  
“You aren’t… afraid.”  
  
  
  
Adrien looked up, surprised. “I mean, besides the time when I thought I was lost? No, I guess not.”  
  
  
  
She looked apprehensive and turned away to the path ahead. “No, I mean… hm. Nevermind. Anyway, if you go straight, you’ll reach the mountain path. That should lead you to the main path in the town to reach your home and get some service.”  
  
  
  
She paused then, tilting her head as she glanced at him. “Uh… Bye.”  
  
  
  
She ended the conversation stiffly, unsure what else to say.  
  
  
  
Strangely, Adrien heard his voice carry on. “A… are you always going to be here? If I come back, will you always be here? Will we meet again?”  
  
  
  
He felt his chest tighten, desperate to see the woman who saved his life again.  
  
  
  
This time, the woman looked sure and solemn. “This is the place where the mountain gods and spirits live.” She said, her voice firm.  
  
  
  
“Set even a foot inside, and you’ll lose your way, and be lost forever.”  
  
  
  
Her words struck like bullets into him. “You shouldn’t come here.”  
  
  
  
She looked to an invisible spot behind him, her expression changing as she suddenly looked exhausted and older, her mouth a thin line.  
  
“Or at least, that’s what the villagers say around here, yeah?” She finally said cynically.  
  
  
  
Adrien nodded numbly and saw himself speaking even more. He was really chatty today, wasn’t he?  
  
  
  
“I’m Adrien Agreste. What’s… what’s your name?”  
  
  
  
He waited for her to answer, all while looking at her face. The woman’s face was a kaleidoscope of emotions, every thought of hers as clear and as varied as day.  
  
Her eyes were at first unsure, concerned, and disturbed before quickly shifting into sureness, determination, and resolve. Finally, a brief change in her eyes showed a stormy uncertainty and doubt, seeming to falter her words as she looked at him, tight-lipped.  
  
  
  
Adrien rushed, feeling like if he didn’t change the subject it’d make things worse.  
  
  
  
“A-anyway! I’ll come back tomorrow with a thank you gift! I promise! Bye… goodbye!”  
  
  
  
The woman’s mouth opened as if to object, but Adrien quickly turned and ran in the direction she had told him to.  
  
  
  
Before he was totally out though, he heard her yell something at him. “It’s Mar-- Ladybug! My name is Ladybug!”  
  
  
  
Adrien paused, nearly tripping over the air in the sudden stop. He turned around, looking at the Shinto gates for the woman.  
  
  
  
She was gone.


	2. A Friend

Adrien followed the mountain path as Ladybug had said, and sure enough, he found the road he had diverged from when he first saw the shinto shrine. Feeling strange, he picked up a stick and was reminded of the woman, and brushed it along the bushes, his mind asleep as he let the world around him consume him.

Quietly, he started to hum to himself. It was a soft melody that his mother used to sing as she worked or brushed his hair, and was a haunting reminder of her. As he walked slowly to the house, he heard the hollers of someone running up to him.

He looked up to see his Aunt run to him, screaming his name. “Adrien? Adrien!”

Adrien’s eyes widen. “Aunt? Aunt Blue?!”

Immediately, Adrien felt the urge to run up and hug his aunt, desperate for touch. He dropped his stick and ran to her, his arms wide open as tears gathered at the edge of his eyes.

“Au--”

“Adrien!” Aunt Blue yelled, her eyes fiery as she looked to Adrien in disappointment. “If you went to the forest and got hurt, what do you think would do?!”

Adrien felt like he’d been hit. “You-you said--”

“Exploring doesn’t mean going to a forest! It’s danger---”

Adrien flung his arms around his aunt’s waist, crying out. He had been scared for his life, really, but his aunt was right. He shouldn’t have gone into a forest--- he should have stayed at the outskirts. But regardless, he had gone.

_But you met someone special._ Said a soft voice.

That was true. But the memory of the strange person faded as he sobbed into his aunt’s stomach, relishing the feeling of someone’s arms around him.

Her aunt sighed, and Adrien felt her put a hand to his hair, stroking it in silence until he stopped sobbing.

 

Eventually, dawn had left them and the sky became a deep blue. He held his hand in his aunt’s as they walked side by side in silence. Adrien wasn’t the most reserved person, but he wasn’t the type to crave touch as other kids his age was. Maybe due to the woman in the forest and his recent near-death experience, he wanted to hold anything, anyone, to reassure him that they were there.

Remembering the woman, he contemplated her presence. Aunt Blue was a kind person, maybe she knew about it?

“Aunt…”

“You can call me Blue. What is it, Adrien?”

He should start slow, enough that his aunt won’t think he’s insane.“Um, do you… Is it true there are spirits living in that forest?”

Blue smiled, a soft twinkle in her eye as if she remembered something. “Ah, that place? Apparently, it’s the mountain gods’ forest. People like to say there are spirits of all types there, but who knows for sure?”

_I do._ “Oh.”

After a moment, Blue spoke again. “When I was younger, I wanted to meet the spirits here. You see, I had just moved from my hometown and wanted to explore. So Emilie and I would often go outside to see. You probably already know that Emilie and I met in college, and she’s not really my real sister. She’s my mum’s third cousin’s daughter.”

Adrien nodded.

Blue smiled and shrugged. “But we never met any, unfortunately. Still, sometimes I felt someone watch me or see someone at the corner of my eye. Especially during summer nights when you’d hear the sound of a river coming from the forest... One of my friend’s even said they went to a summer festival inside, interestingly.” She hummed.

“But, the villagers are too superstitious to have a festival in the forest. So who’s festival could it have possibly been? My friend Eleanor said it was a ‘festival for the spirits.’” She laughed.

“But like I said, who knows?’

She paused, her eyes misted in thought as she smiled fondly. “ It’s alright though, I’ve had plenty of… shall we say, spiritual experiences when I was a teenager so I don’t much care to see more of them in my lifetime-- thought it was definitely fun.”

Adrien had definitely heard about his aunt’s so-called spiritual experiences, though never in detail. His father had always disregarded them as crazy stories so Adrien had never really thought much about it. He looked to his aunt.

Now that he saw that woman, though… well.

They walked home in comfortable silence, both in their own thoughts.

His aunt sighed, breaking the silence. “Adrien, I want you to know. The trees… they have thoughts. There are things out there you could never imagine-- lines of energy are underneath our feet, days where certain people can see… well, spirits.”

She paused, glancing at Adrien, who nodded eagerly as he stared up at his aunt with wide eyes.

“I’ve seen… things. Terrifying things. _Wonderful_ things. Whatever you saw--”

Adrien's breath hitched. “How did you--”

His aunt laughed. “It’s not hard to guess, Adrien. But you have that look in your eye-- the look of someone who’s seen something… extraordinary. Regardless, just know, that whatever it was-- it will change your life. Forever.”

She stopped walking, and kneeled to Adrien’s eye level and squeezed his shoulders gently. “And you can’t ignore it once it happens. Even if you tried.”

She stared deeply into his eyes, imploring him to heed her next words. “So you have to be wary.”

She got up and held his hand, walking leisurely as if it never happened. Adrien squeezed her hand, and she squeezed it back.

Eventually, they reached the house. As soon as they walked inside, Blue went to the bathroom to change into her pyjamas, leaving Adrien alone with his father.

Gabriel spotted Adrien walk into the kitchen and looked at him in relief, his features relaxing. He looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it as he pursed his lips and went back to his magazine. The rest of the night was in silence until they went to bed.

Adrien tossed and turned, but couldn’t sleep. His aunt had pulled the curtains closed but opened the window slightly for a breeze to waft in, so it wasn’t uncomfortable. Regardless, he wanted to get up and pace around, the smaller room suddenly feeling nauseating.

Instead, he turned to the ceiling. He scrutinized the wooden panes, counting the marks and spots that inevitably came from old age.

“This is the place where the mountain gods and spirits live.”

Adrien counted another spot.

_“I’ve seen… things. Terrifying things. Wonderful things.”_

Three spots in the ceiling so far.

_“Set even a foot inside, and you’ll lose your way, and be lost forever.”_

There were five more spots.

_“Regardless, just know, that whatever it was-- it will change your life. Forever.”_

Ten more spots-- how old was this house?

_“You shouldn’t come here…”_

Fifteen spots.

_“So you have to be wary.”_

In the end, Adrien had counted twenty marks and spots in the ceiling, before falling asleep.

 

~

 

“...You came.”

Bright blue eyes stared at him in shock, her mask sparkling under the new day’s light.

Adrien looked back at her with the same shock as she casually sat on the steps on the shrine, probably waiting for him.

“I didn’t think you’d actually come back…”

Adrien shifted his feet, looking down at the plastic bag with her gift before looking back up at her eyes again. “You’re… not an illusion, right?”

Ladybug looked to the sky, shrugging. “I guess it is a pretty hot day, huh? I don’t blame you for second-guessing yourself. I could very well be a hallucination from dehydration. In fact, you might’ve died in the forest yesterday, and you're dreaming this all now.”

Adrien knew she was joking--- after all, he still felt his aunt’s cheek pinch from when he left to meet her. _“Don’t get lost again, alright?”_ Blue had said.

Still, the thought unnerved him.

She leapt from her spot to him and smiled. “Wanna go somewhere cooler?”

Adrien fidgeted with his bag, unsure.

She turned, grinning. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you come back here safely again.”

Her smile was so warm that Adrien could only smile in return. “O-okay!”

As Ladybug led him through the forest, Adrien uncovered the contents of his bag to reveal two popsicles. “Your gift…”

Ladybug’s eyes shone. “You were serious! Wow, thank you!”

She reached for it grinning. Adrien leapt back. “W-wait… can you eat?”

He realised now that if she was indeed a forest creature and not a human, she couldn’t possibly eat the food. It might even kill her! He felt horrible!

Instead, Ladybug laughed, her eyes twinkling. “Oh, don’t worry. I can eat.”

“Oh.” Adrien looked away, embarrassed as she reached in and pulled out a peach flavoured one.

“Oh! My favourite flavour. Do you mind if I take it?”

Adrien nodded, grinning. “It’s my favourite flavour, too! Don’t worry, I brought… two!” “He pulled out his popsicle with a flourish, bowing his head.

He grinned as they bit into their popsicle at the same time. “Mmm!”

Ladybug led them across a large bright red bridge, walking cheerfully as she ate. Adrien looked over the railings as they did, surprised to see a large river underneath them. He hadn’t heard it at all. 

They finished their popsicles in a comfortable silence.

Ladybug continued to lead him into a deeper part of the forest, more alike to the place he had been when he thought he was going to die.

Gloomy puffs of purple smoke curled at their feet, the leaves of the trees making the place look and feel darker. But surprisingly, Adrien didn’t feel scared. In fact, he felt cheerful. As he walked, he saw a blur of motion at the corner of his eye.

He turned, stopping.

“Adrien?” Ladybug called.

He shook his head, calm down, and turned back to Ladybug, following her.

He heard rustling like a snake through the long dregs of grass and turned.

This time, he spotted a cloud of black in the grass. It slithered across the dirt before stopping behind a tree, getting bigger as it formed into a black blob with a single red eye.

The black blob churned again, twisting it's forms to a line that seemed to represent a sinister smile. It spoke, but it was as if the smile was constant, not moving with the words spoken.

“ _Ladybug_.” It said, it’s voice like three voices on top of each other and echoing in Adrien’s head. “Is that a human child?”

Adrien stepped back.

“May I eat it?” It had said this quite politely, but it looked at Adrien with a worrisome expression.

Adrien shivered, too scared to speak. He stepped back to Ladybug and felt the urge to grab her hand, but instead decided to clutch his paper bag and manoeuvre behind her.

Ladybug smiled down at him and stuck out an arm in front of him. “No.” She said, her voice firm. “He’s my friend.”

The blob’s expression didn't change, still stuck on a sinister smile. “Is that so?”

The blob’s black skin seemed to ripple. “Human child…”

Adrien stepped closer to Ladybug, who seemed to be coughing. “Don’t touch Ladybug’s skin.”

Ladybug coughed a bit louder.

“Or I’ll eat you!” He said, before suddenly topping. His single eye widening.

Ladybug sneezed, beating her chest as she sneezed not once, not twice, but three times.

The blob let out a noise of surprise, as it’s black body disappeared in a mass of smoke. In moments, Adrien saw the blob turn into a long body, and realised it was an orange fox with big purple eyes, vaguely resembling a kitsune. The blob-now-fox squeaked out in surprise as it seemed to glare at Ladybug before running off and fading away.

Ladybug shook her head, sighing. “Oh, don’t mind him, he just transforms to scare people. He’s one of the spirits here, but he’s all bark and no bite.”

Adrien’s eyes widened as he looked in the direction the blob-actually-fox went to. “A… spirit?! You mean a real one?!” He clutched his bag and raised it to his cheek, ecstatic. “Woah! I’ve… I’ve never met one! That’s… amazing! They-- they exist!”

Ladybug looked at him incredulously. “Wait, what did you think I was?”

Adrien paused. What _did_ he think she was?

Ladybug rolled her eyes but smiled, walking in front of him. Adrien jogged to catch up. As they walked for a few moments, he scrutinized to Ladybug’s face. “Are you a… no face spirit? Or something?” He was grasping at the straws, trying to think of all the Japanese spirits he knew about. “With the mask and stuff? Why do you wear it?”

Ladybug shrugged. “No particular reason, really. But enough about me! Tell me about yourself.”

Adrien smiled. “You… you want to know?”

Ladybug didn’t say anything for a few moments. “Well, that’s why I waited for you.”

Adrien felt his heart soar. So she did wait for him!

He grinned, feeling the urge to jump with joy. “Does that mean…” He tried to find the right words. “...Are we friends?”

Ladybug turned to him in surprise. “If you’d like to be.”

_Did_ he! “Really?!”

She smiled.

Adrien whooped, running up to Ladybug before passing her and seeing a large field.

Ladybug caught up with him. “This is where I wanted to take you! It’s very nice--”

Adrien didn’t really listen, instead running around and spinning. A friend! He thought he’d never have one!

He stopped in front of her, grinning. “Well! First thing’s first, I’m homeschooled and uh… I’m eleven!” He said boastfully

He continued on. “Also, I’m a model! And uh… I also know how to play the piano! Also, I like candy! But I absolutely _hate_ cheese.” He ended with a serious expression, his nose scrunching up.

Ladybug blinked in shock, before smiling warmly, nodding for him to go on as she sat on the grass.

And so he went on, too excited to sit. Instead, he paced around, his hand waving around dramatically. Soon he found himself telling her about stories of his childhood and stories he heard about, his interests, and all of his favourite games.

By the time he finished another story, it had gotten dark.

“Yikes, who knew models could be so mean?”

“Well, they’re not all mean. He was just _one_ of the mean ones. A lot of models are actually really nice!”

“Oh, I see!” She looked to the sky. “It’s about time you leave, isn’t it?” She sounded sad.

Adrien felt upset, but grinned. “I’ll come tomorrow! We’re here all summer vacation!”

Ladybug’s eyes lit up. “Really? How long is that?”

“Until september!”

Ladybug clapped her hands together, smiling warmly. “Great! Let’s go then, so I can see you tomorrow!”

He grinned as she led them out.

 

 

Afterwards, Adrien went to the forest every day, always excited to play with her.

“Wait… is that a grave?”

Ladybug shrugged. “It’s how the spirits have come to live here. These are from decades ago though, and no one buries them here anymore… oh! Look over there!”

She pointed to a gravestone. “This is the fox’ grave!”

“The blob?” Adrien asked, surprised.

“Yep!”

“Woah! The name’s been weathered away…”

“It _has_ been a while..."

She hummed. "If you’d like, I can tell you his name. He’s one of the few spirits that remember it! By the way, I really like your hat.”

Adrien smiled proudly, striking a pose to show off the hat. “Hehe. Yep, it’s from my father’s collection. I got to borrow it because it’s so sunny outside and aun--- I mean, Blue. _Blue_ says that she ran out of sunscreen. She’s gonna buy some tomm-- Oh no!”

While Adrien had been talking, Ladybug had taken the hat and had been inspecting it in her hands until a strong breeze blew it into a tree. “Ah! Sorry, I’ll get it right now!”

Ladybug reached up, trying to pull the cap from the tree. However, it was far too high. Instead of giving up though, she pulled out something from a flare at her waist-- a yo-yo.

Adrien blinked in surprise.

Using the yo-yo, Ladybug twirled it at her side before stepping back and leaning forward, throwing it to the branches. The yo-yo caught the cap and pushed it off, where she caught it in her hand triumphantly.

“Here ya go!” She handed the cap to him with a wicked grin before she twirled her yo-yo into her dress. Adrien suddenly realised it held secret pockets.

Adrien looked at her in awe. “Woah! What?”

She grinned. “The spirits made it for me, with the mask. Cool, huh?”

“Yes!”

Now it was her own turn to pose proudly, flexing her muscles. “Heh.”

“Wait, what’s that fox’ name again?”

She smiled warmly. “His name was Trixx."

ღ

Adrien watched in interest as Ladybug folded a leaf into a small boat-like thing. “What else can you do?”

Ladybug rolled her eyes good-naturedly, smiling. Adrien had been asking her that for the past hour. “You’ll see.”

She let it fall into the river, as Adrien saw it float on the water. He stared at it, confused. “That’s cool and all but… there’s no wind.”

She grinned. She took out her yo-yo and twirled dramatically, before she swirled it into a small circle in front of her. Despite the yo-yo spinning at a normal speed, it seemed to let out an incredible gust of air as the boat flew forward in a jump of speed, the once calm water beneath it gathering into galloping tides that made the leaf-boat speed to the far end of the river.

“Woah.”

Ladybug let the yo-yo spin faster and faster until it was only a blur of red, before suddenly snapping it toward her and catching it in her hand.”I know.”

ღ

Adrien ran around a big trunk of a tree, gleeful that he managed to escape Ladybug. She feinted left of the tree before turning to the right. Adrien gasped and ran backwards, a sudden burst of speed overcoming him.

“Guh!” Ladybug said, before falling on her face to the ground as she tried to reach for him with the tag-branch.

_Is she alright?_

He walked tentatively towards her, looking down. When she didn’t move, he walked cautiously forward, until he was less than a foot away from her. Just as he was about to move closer, Ladybug sprang up in a blur of motion with her branch extended forward. “Oh-ho-ho-ho!” She cackled.

Adrien shrieked in surprise before laughing and ran to the tree, climbing up it.

He only got a few, maybe two, feet above ground, before Ladybug stepped back and took out her yo-yo.

“Wait!” Adrien called. “You’re not allowed to use that, remember?”

Ladybug paused. Her lips pursed slightly as her eyes looked deep in thought. Then. she smiled.

Oh no.

Ladybug put her yo-yo back into her pockets and stepped further back, pausing. Adrien waited with bated breath. She smirked.

She ran forward in a similar burst in speed and-- and _flipping flipped._

Adrien mentally apologised for his language.

She flipped in the air until she reached a branch a foot above his head, grabbing it as her elven slippers toed the trunk an inch above his head. She smiled down at him, using her branch to poke his head gently.

“You’re it!”

After running around playing tag for a while, Ladybug lay on the grass, exhausted.

“I can’t believe you could do that! That’s amazing. No, insane!” Adrien exclaimed, his baseball cap falling from his head. He made no attempt to pick it up.

“Uh-huh.” Ladybug said tiredly, reaching for his cap.

He paced around excited. “You _flipped!_ Like a _superhero!_ That was so, so,  _so_ cool!”

Ladybug only grunted in response, pulling his cap over her eyes.

Adrien spotted a field of flowers behind them and ran to it, grinning as he plucked some peonies and lavenders out. _Blue would like these!_

He turned to Ladybug, wanting to know her opinion, but saw that she seemed still. Was she asleep?

Still holding the flowers, he walked towards her, and crouched. An arm was rested on her stomach, while the other was on the grass at her side. She wasn’t touching the cap.

_I could just…_

He reached for his cap on her face, using the edge of it to poke the mask. Her mask fell loose, enough that Adrien could just pull it off. _I can probably touch the mask, right?_

Cautiously, he pulled the edge of her mask, which was made of much harder material than it looked, as it fell to the grass next to her with a soft _plunk_. He looked down at Ladybug’s face.

He wasn’t sure what he expected. Maybe he was expecting scars that crisscrossed around her eyelids, or burn marks on her nose and on the side of her face. But instead, she looked--

Ladybug opened her eyes, a gust of wind playing with her hair as she looked up at him with sad eyes. “I look normal, don’t I?”

Adrien let out a noise of surprise, his face heated. “I’m so sorry!”

He slammed his cap onto her face, embarrassed.

“Ow!” Ladybug got up. “Attacking me when I’m asleep? Adrien, that’s _brutal!_ ” But as she said this, she guffawed, almost hysterically. She held his cap threateningly, like she was gonna throw it at him.

Instead of playing around however, Adrien crawled backwards, clutching the flowers to his chest. “So sorry!”

She sighed and shook her head, pushing the cap towards him and reaching for her mask while pulling grass off of it.

Adrien found his words. “You were… were you only pretending to sleep?”

She placed the mask on her face, blinking to look up at him as she shrugged. “I look like a normal human, right?”

Adrien nodded. “Why… why do you wear a mask?”

“If I don’t wear a mask, I won’t look supernatural.”

A cloud passed over their heads, painting the once sunny sky into a shadowed place. “The mask makes me look weird, right?”

She sat up, imploring him.

The cloud passed, the ground beneath it once again a sunny place.

“You’re weird.” Adrien finally said.

She laughed before shrugging.

She looked to the sky, her arms holding her up as she stared at the clouds.

“Well, at least it fits.” She said with a grin.

ღ

They went down the flights of stairs to the opening of the mountain path, quiet.

Adrien broke the silence. “Ladybug… I won’t be able to see you tomorrow.”

She didn’t respond.

Adrien continued, “I told you before, right? I’m only here at my aunt’s for the summer, so… I won’t be able to see you…”

When Ladybug said nothing, Adrien sighed and looked down.

Finally, Ladybug spoke. “Well, you’ll be able to come next year, yeah?”

Adrien grinned. “Yes!”

She smiled, leading him to the mountain path. She stopped at the foot of the stairs, smiling.

He rushed forward and waved wildly. “I’ll see you soon!”

She leaned against the ladybug statue, grinning back. She waved, watching him go as he went farther and farther down the path.

Adrien looked back as well, watching as she got smaller and smaller.

**Author's Note:**

> Sooooo I read "The Raven Cycle" and think the way Maggie Stiefvater writes just, like, fits into the story,,, soooooo I was high-key experimenting with this. Please do tell me if you think I should stick with it or not ><
> 
> Anywho, there's a chapter or two (not sure if it's a two-part story or three) sooo stay tuned! I hope you liked it ;D


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